Monday, April 6, 2015

Free Outgoing, directed by Kelly Thorton and written by Anupama Chandrasekhar, premiered at Canada, Toronto’s Factory Theater Main stage on January 28th. The performance was helped in part by Nightwood Theater. Started in 1979, Nightwood is Canada’s oldest national women’s theater.

The screenwriter, Anupama, is an Indian play writer from the fast-growing city of Chennai in southern India. Her plays have gained a global audience, including theaters in the US, India, and Europa. Anupama was formerly a journalist before making the switch to playwriting. Free outgoing, first directed by Indhu Rubasingam, premiered at the Royal Court Theater in London in 2007. In 2008, it moved shortly to the Traverse Theater for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Anupama was shortlisted for the John Whiting Award and the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She also placed runner up for the Evening Standard Theatre Award’s Charles Wintour Prize for Most Promising Playwright in 2008. Some of her other playwriting include Acid, The Snow Queen, Disconnect, and Closer Apart. The screenplay adaption of Free Outgoing was a finalist for the Sundance International Screenwriter’s Lab.

Screenwriter Anupama, Malini and Writer Kuru Aravinthan

Free Outgoing follows the downward spiral of Theepa, a 15 year-old girl living in the bustling city of Chennai, India. When the sex video with her boyfriend recorded on her mobile phone makes its way on the Internet, she must deal with the fallout and hysteria. Theepa and her brother quickly find themselves expelled from school. Malini, a single mother, destroys all of the Western technology found in their flat and locks Theepa in her room. As the local infrastructure breaks down, the media and accompanying mob increasingly blame Theepa and her family for their recent plights. Free Outgoing pits new world technology and liberalism against the traditional conservatism of India.

Anupama Chandrasekhar was inspired to write the play by several real incidents that occurred in India, including two students in Delhi who filmed themselves having sex and the ensuing public outcry.

The last performance at the Factory Theater Mainstage is on February 16th, 2014.

Ash has acted in the U.K. Romeo & Juliet, Uganda Cake and Canada Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Count of Monte-Cristo and Carried away on the Crest of a Wave among others.

Asha Vijayasingham - Usha Asha is an actor, voiceover artist and singer. Asha also participated in Nightwood Theatre’s playwright initiative Write From The Hip and a staged reading of her work was presented at the Groundswell Festival.

Ellora Patnaik - Nirmala/Kokila Ellora Patnaik was born into an artistic family. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and was selected for Company in her third year.

Sanjay Talwar - Ramesh Sanjay Talwar returns for his second season at the Shaw Festival appearing as the Senior Judge in Peace in Our Time: A Comedy and as Captain Brice in Arcadia.